Waverley TBS wine director slams 'nonsense' on-trade wine margins

One of the country's biggest on-trade suppliers has called on pubs and restaurants to use cash margins on wine sales, dismissing current mark-ups as "nonsense".

One of the country's biggest on-trade suppliers has called on pubs and restaurants to use cash margins on wine sales, dismissing current mark-ups as "nonsense".

Neil Bruce, wine director at Waverley TBS, which supplies on-trade outlets across the UK, said: "One of the biggest buttons we are pressing at the minute is encouraging our customers to embrace cash margins."

He said it was important that consumers felt they were "getting good value rather than feeling ripped off".

"These days there is no excuse for the on-trade to charge the prices they do. It's absolute nonsense," he added.

Back in February London restaurant group D&D slashed the mark-ups on top-end bottles to offer customers fairer prices on fine wines - the cuts apply to around 2,000 wines listed at over £50. The trend is also spreading to the off-trade as retailers say increased pricing transparency makes large margins difficult to explain. Last week London wine merchant Roberson announced a shake up of fine wine sales- it will now offer wines over £100 at "eye-wateringly competitive" wholesale prices in its Kensington store.

Old World wines good value

Waverley TBS recently added 160 new wines to its portfolio, which is skewed 60:40 in favour of the Old World. Bruce said Old World wines are better value right now, adding that it has held the prices of 230 Old World skus. Meanwhile all of its New World wine prices have increased. Bruce said that France and Spain are doing particularly well - "France on the back of history, and Spain, as only in the last couple of years are people moving away from Rioja and looking at other regions."

Bruce said Chile's Santa Serena Sauvignon Blanc, trade price £4.13, was the firm's single biggest sku. But he added that Chile is very price sensitive, "every year it becomes more and more difficult to find wine there at the correct price".

Despite recent figures from Nielsen signalling a slow-down in rosé sales, Bruce said "there is still definite growth in the on-trade, it's a significant opportunity," he added.

Waverley TBS currently bottles one third of its wine volumes in the UK, mainly coming from the New World.